Husarion launches new robotics development board

The basic Core2 is shown on the left, while the ROS-enabled Core2 is on the right

A company called Husarion has launched a new development board specially designed for robotics.

The Core2 is described as a controller with a variety of interfaces which are useful in robotics, and it can be connected to the Husarion cloud, enabling remote control of robot systems over the internet.

Among the use cases Husarion highlights are:

industrial robot arms;

telepresence robots;

logistics robotcs;

drones; and

exoskeletons.

One flavour of Core2 uses the Robot Operation System, and is now available for pre-order through CrowdSupply.com. The controller itself is being offered for less than $100 while

The company says its plan is to make robotics “as simple as coding a website”.

And while it may argue that the board is capable of handling industrial applications, it’s likely to initially attract hobbyists and enthusiasts.

But then, that was probably the way the Raspberry Pi started out, and some people are equating the Husarion Core2 with the wildly successful hobbyist board.

Core2 does actually integrate the Raspberry Pi into one version of its controller, as well as the Asus Tinker board. Other configurations are designed to connect with Lego Mindstorms and Makeblock components.

The Core2 is also compatible with the popular Arduino platform.

Husarion’s first product, the RoboCore, was developed a few years ago, and was aimed squarely at the industrial sector, with the company integrating the robot controller into a pick-and-place robot.

This time round, with Core2, Husarion is prioritising marketing to the hobbyist or maker market, equating the system to the more well-known Lego Mindstorms platform.